


your summer skin

by ravenboy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 127 line make appearances, Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, dojae, human!donghyuck, norenmin, side relationships - chensung, slow burn?, vampire!Mark, will update as the story progresses - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-11 13:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17447594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenboy/pseuds/ravenboy
Summary: Mark and Donghyuck linked their clammy, short pinkies together, the promise of sharing everything in the other’s lives was now already made.Donghyuck remembers it, 15 years later, and his eye twitches when he realises Mark was still keeping something from him.And Donghyuck will be damned if he doesn’t do something about it.Or, Donghyuck follows Vampire!Mark on the night of Mark’s 20th birthday and the timing couldn’t have been worse.





	1. if the blood bottles were anything to go by...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyuck finds out owo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, this is my first (sort of) fic!!! please give it a lot of love

The 1st rule of being friends with the Mark Lee in Lee Donghyuck’s handbook: he’s not as funny, smart, cute, or handsome as he looks.

So he didn’t understand why everyone had crowded among the said boy on his 20th birthday party, or the night before it anyway. His bitterness barely had anything to do with the fact that he was left alone with nothing to do, and no one to talk to. Barely.

When Jeno approached him after 2 minutes of Donghyuck glaring at the crowd, it was with a look of pity.

“You know, if you just nudged him he would drop every conversation for you right? Is there a need for you to glare?”

“I’m not glaring, Jeno, I’m observing.”

Frankly, Jeno wasn’t one to push anyone, to Donghyuck’s relief, so he just shrugged and asked if he wanted a drink.

It wasn’t until a couple hours later, nearing 12 and the official commence of Mark’s life as a 20-year-old, when Donghyuck had an interaction with anyone other than just Jeno and that one guy who nearly puked on him, and it was only to walk into the horrifying scene of Renjun and Jaemin making out.

“For the love of god, will you guys please stop? The fact that you guys know I’m here and still continue is very indicative of your voyeuristic tendencies and I won’t hesitate to expose it to the world.” Donghyuck could only watch as the duo untangled themselves and tried to fix their appearance, obviously to no avail.

“Sorry Hyuck, we know _exactly_ how left out you feel everytime you hang out with us three!”

“No, Renjun don’t sta-“

“I keep telling Jaemin that 3 boyfriends isn’t too much but he never li-“

Donghyuck rushed out the room just in time to miss out on Jeno’s whines about not being a part of their makeout session, and just in time to bump into Mark.

“I was looking for you, where were you? The candles are going out in 3 minutes, come on.”

Donghyuck allowed for his anger to be taken out on Mark at a later time, and let himself be pulled by Mark into the middle of the a photo.

After the cake cutting and the mini-food fight, _and_ trying to get everyone out the door, which was a hassle (Donghyuck knew how Mark just couldn’t get rid of some overly clingy people), only the 7 of them were left.

“Jisung and I are taking the guest room, my brother just told us he’s not coming to pick us up,” Chenle murmured, still looking down at his phone.

“Since when did Kun ever bother to come down anyway, if the house has a guest room, it’s free real estate for Chenle,” Jaemin called out from the kitchen.

“And Jisung.”

“And Jisung!”

Jisung just shrugged them off, “You know this whole jealousy thing is really unnecessary you guys both have a rich boyfriend of your own.”

Hyuck begged to differ, “If Jaemin was rich, he’d be able to buy his own drinks after school.”

“If Jaemin _wasn’t_ rich, he wouldn’t be living in his own apartment. Do I really need to say it again? His. Own. Apartment.”

“Okay, well it’s time for us three to head off into that apartment because rich boyfriend here still needs to complete his average homework.” Bless Jeno.

Mark turned to Donghyuck, “Is Yukhei picking you up?”

“Nah, I figured I could just crash your bed,” Donghyuck said while going upstairs, then turned back around,

“Oh come on, Mark, we’ve been sharing beds since forever, if you keep making a face like that, it’s gonna stay.”

Although Donghyuck did find it a bit weird that Mark was hesitating to share beds, it’s never bothered him before so he doesn’t see why it did now. Maybe it was the same reason behind Mark avoiding him these past few days too, always off out somewhere without giving either a legitimate reason or location, and Donghyuck hated it.

 

\---

 

“I don’t know, Renjun. What if he has a secret boyfriend or girlfriend I don’t know about and I’m just intruding?”

Donghyuck was lying in his bed on the Saturday morning of Marks 20th birthday, he had planned a surprise outing with him a little later in the day, and he should probably have been getting ready, but Donghyuck had more pressing matters. Like discussing his crisis with Renjun in hopes of receiving some consolidation.

“Trust me, he does _not_ have a secret boyfriend nor girlfriend, but listen, if you’re so curious about this, why not just ask him about it?”

Donghyuck had. Multiple times. It wasn’t his fault, nor Renjun’s, that Mark was so good at avoiding topics.

“ _Hyuck, try snooping_!” So the two did stay the night at Jaemins.

“Jaemin, no. Like I said, I don’t wanna invade his privacy, maybe he’ll tell me when he’s ready to. Whatever, I’m just telling you guys that _something_ is up, and if Mark kills me when I find it out, I need you to leave my MJ LP’s by my grave.”

“Mark’s not gonna kill yo- _But if he does I’ll definitely leave MJ_!”

“Thanks Jeno.” Bless Jeno, Hyuck thinks.

“Yea okay point is, Mark’s not going to kill you, but good luck anyway. Stay safe.”

Well, he might as well start getting ready, maybe he can pry it off from Mark tonight.

 

He had not, in fact, been able to pry it off from Mark.

Mark had loved the surprise, a movie night in with Donghyuck’s cooking and a facetime session with Hyuck’s parents, who never failed to coo at him despite his age. They were now situated around the kitchen island with a small, home-baked birthday cake on it, courtesy of Hyuck, and Mark closed his eyes.

Donghyuck could only wonder what his wish was, although he had an idea it was based around his family and friends, which was fairly typical of Mark.

He hadn’t realized he has zoned out until Mark has smeared cake on his cheek.

“Oh, you are IN for it, Lee!”

After minutes of chasing Mark around, Mark decided to finally let Donghyuck win (“As if you _let_ me, you’re just embarrassed that I caught up”), and they both landed in a pile of blankets on Donghyuck’s bed.

“Happy 20th birthday, you loser. Here’s your present. I know it’s not much, and honestly, I am very broke after buying the cake ingredients and the decorations, but this wasn’t cheap either! I mean you don’t have t- “

“Hyuck, I love it. Seriously. I’m going to wear it everywhere, starting from now.”

As he handed Donghyuck the bracelet to put on him, Hyuck wondered where he got such an amazing and supportive best friend.

“Oh my- Hyuck, listen, I love it. Honestly! Why are you tearing up, Hyuck… I’m serious! I’ll wear it everywhere!”

A scoff could be heard somewhere through his half-laughing-half-crying debacle, “Shut up dork, I’m crying because you’re finally growing up. My wittle-baby-smoochems is finally a big 20-year-old now.”

Mark couldn’t even bring himself to push Hyuck’s hands away from the residence of his cheeks, and so he succumbed to the coos of his best friend.

 

Three conversations about their friends, aliens, and their friends again later, as Donghyuck was dozing off, Mark began to untangle himself.

“Hey, Hyuck, I’m sorry about this, but things came up and I, I gotta go. I’m sorry again, I’ll make it up to you.”

And with that he rushed out the door, leaving a quick note for the now sleeping Hyuck.

Or maybe not-so-sleeping Hyuck.

Donghyuck knew poking around in Mark’s business was not a great idea, contrary to Jaemin’s beliefs, but his curiosity (and his anger – how could Mark leave on his 20th birthday?) became too great. He put on his coat, a hat - very inconspicuous, he believed - and set off after Mark, who wasn’t too hard to find, still walking slowly along the edge of the footpath.

 

\---

 

 _I knew he had a secret relationship_ , Donghyuck internally scolded himself. Why else would he be walking into someone’s house this late at night?

Great, just great. He had just intruded on his best friend’s privacy, over a _relationship_. And now he didn’t even remember his way back. He just had to get out of here before either Mark, or his secret girlfriend/boyfriend came out and saw him.

He guesses it took about two seconds for him to realize that he had fucked up.

In those two seconds, he could only stare at the stoic, but _extremely_ handsome face, above his. Very above his.

It just had to be his luck to bump into the world’s tallest guy as he turned around to walk back home. The guy who also didn’t seem to have a hint of a smile on his face. And, oh, then the panic set in.

“Uh, listen. I’m so sorry, look, please don’t kill me. I was here for my friend, but then he left, sort of. And now I’m lost. And yep, I’m just gonna go. See you la- no. Uh, bye.”

“Kid wait up. There’s no way you were just wondering around here, in the south part of the city.”

Oh, so that’s where he was. Wasn’t the south exactly where his parents had told him to stay away from? What was Mark even doing here?

“So, who’s your friend?”

Donghyuck couldn’t just tell him it was Mark Lee.

“Mark Lee.”

Apparently, he could if he feared for his life, never mind.

Handsome boy’s eyes lit up in interest as he smiled, in what could’ve only been amusement.

“Well, I would love to talk more, Dong- kid. But I’m not sure you should be here right now. It’s not exactly great timing.”

“Wait, how do you know Mark? Is he in there with his boyfriend? Girlfriend? Can I come in? All I need to do is apologize, it won’t take long, I swear.”

“Man, you’re lucky I’m the one who you bumped into and not anyone else. But no, you can’t come in, it’s quite possibly the worst night for you to come in. Look, my friends are gonna be quite suspicious of you now, so I’ll keep in touch anyway. But you should go home now.”

“How are you going to keep in touch if you don’t eve- “

“I have my ways. Trust me, you’ll see me again. Go. Home.”

And with that, handsome boy turned around and left.

 

\---

 

Three days later, the guilt was still eating him up. As well as curiosity. Who was the handsome boy? Why did he know Mark? Could he have been Mark’s boyfriend?

He couldn’t even bring himself to tell anyone about what had happened. Renjun would just nag at him for not being safe (“What if the boy was a murderer? Huh? What then? You’re so dumb, Hyuck!”), Jaemin would’ve just laughed it off and told him he should’ve followed the handsome boy. And Jeno, well, Jeno would probably just tell him to not worry about it.

He guessed he could’ve gone to Jeno. But there was still a lingering feeling in the back of his mind, telling him to be cautious. And if, for some wild reason, the handsome boy was not safe, he didn’t want to drag poor, innocent Jeno into it.

Donghyuck had, in fact, realized he was zoning out more and more because of his predicament. He was well aware that three classes had just gone by and he hadn’t taken in anything from them. _And_ finals were coming up. He needed a nap.

So, he chose not to blame himself when he closed his eyes for two minutes at the bus stop, only to be awaken by the handsome boy, and two other, equally as handsome and equally as tall boys themselves – although one was significantly taller, oh boy.

Instead, he chose to blame Mark. _If he had told me his secret in the first place, like we promised each other we would, then I wouldn’t be forced to follow these… mafia men, probably, into wherever they were taking him to kill me._ So, yes, it was Mark’s fault that he was going to die.

And he didn’t even get to tell Jeno where his MJ LP’s were.

 

So maybe Donghyuck hadn’t died.

Instead, he was sitting in a tattoo parlour, doubling as a small café, with eyes that went to every corner of the said place. The handsome boys had bought him a coffee, despite his insisting pleas to pay it by himself.

“Johnny wanted one on his wrist. Sorry we dragged you out so far.”

So there was a name to tall(er) and handsome boy #2.

“It’s okay. I didn’t have much to do at home anyway.” A lie. “And I had some questions to ask too.”

Handsome boy #1 only hummed and took a sip of his coffee, eyes still very fascinated by the boy in front of him. Donghyuck hoped he could answer some of his questions. It’s not like he had anyone else to go to.

“Does Mark know you’re here?”

Donghyuck hadn’t seen Mark in the 3 days since his birthday.

“No. Is that important?”

“Well, it really isn’t. It just makes things more fun for Jaehyun.” The guy on handsome boys, now _Jaehyun_ , right had finally spoken up. Donghyuck guessed he wasn’t much of a talker.

“Shut up, Sicheng.”

And the last boy’s name was Sicheng. _Okay, Johnny, Jaehyun, Sicheng – it’s not that hard, just don’t get it wrong and they won’t kill you. Or worse, tell Mark._

Speaking of, “Jaehyun. So how do you know Mark?”

Jaehyun and Sicheng made eye contact, albeit hesitantly, but as soon as Jaehyun opened his mouth, Johnny walked in, shoving his hand into the middle of the table, and nearly Sicheng’s coffee too.

“What do you guys think?”

Donghyuck was more than just a little surprised. Mafia gang dude here had gotten a pastel moon as a tattoo?

The shock must’ve been evident because then Sicheng said, “Johnny’s way softer than he looks.”

“So Johnny, uh, nice tattoo and all, but can you explain to me how you guys know Mark? Or why the night was the ‘worst night’ to come by? Or why Mark walked into the house at 11 at night?”

“Look, ki-“

“Or how you guys even found me? Why were you guys suspicious of me? Were you stalki-“

“Kid! Shut up for a second.” Donghyuck knew better than to get on their angry side, so he did indeed shut up.

“Listen dude, I get that you have questions and you’ll get answers in due time. But not here, and definitely not now. We just wanted to hang out with you. See what the fuss was all about.”

Donghyuck was almost about to ask ‘What fuss?’ but again decided better against it. At this point, Donghyuck didn’t think he’d get any answers so he might as well leech of their money more.

“Okay, let’s go watch a movie. But you’re paying.”

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, “Kid, give me one good reason.”

“You want to hang out with me. And I come at a price. I’m a uni student so I could just go home and study right now. Unless you wanna pay for my movie ticket.”

Donghyuck prayed Jaehyun wouldn’t rip his head off.

But Jaehyun only turned to Sicheng with a raised eyebrow, which Sicheng just shrugged off.

“I like him. If you’re paying for his you can pay for mine too,” he cooly replied and made his way out of the parlour.

Jaehyun sighed and followed Johnny out the door.

Donghyuck couldn’t believe that had worked.

 

After 3 hours, which consisted of the movie and 20 minutes of convincing Jaehyun to buy him popcorn and a drink as well, it was 9pm. Though Donghyuck did still find all three of them scary, he couldn’t deny that he had a fun time, and he wouldn’t be opposed to doing this again. Apparently he wasn’t the only one.

“We’ll walk you home today but next time, let’s do a day where you don’t have any classes.”

_Next time. I wonder when tha- Hold on._

“You don’t need to walk me home. My dorm’s not even 2 blocks from here, it’s fine.”

But Johnny and Jaehyun had already started walking in the same direction, talking animatedly in their small conversation.

Sicheng just gave him one last, unreadable look and began walking, so Donghyuck had no choice but to follow.

 

It was only when he arrived home that Donghyuck realised he didn’t have any means of contact to let them know when he had classes or not.

“Hyuck, maybe you need a break. I mean looking at you being out this late studying and that permanent frown on your face. Finals are three weeks away man. Is it really that deep?”

Donghyuck just gave his roomate a look. “Shut up Yukhei, I wasn’t studying.”

“Oh! Well, well, well. Was it a date?”

It was definitely not a date, but Donghyuck couldn’t very well go telling Yukhei that he hung out with three strangers who he didn’t have the contacts of. So he kept silent.

“Is little Donghyuckie embarassed?” Yukhei teased him while leaning against his door frame, “Well, doesn’t matter. I’ll just get all the details from Mark.”

“Why Mark? I didn’t tell him anything?”

Yukhei turned around mid-exit, “So… you _didn’t_ go on a date with Mark?”

Why would Donghyuck have been on a date with Mark?

Apparently the statement was evident on his face too because Yukhei just made a sheepish face and quickly left the room.

Donghyuck was much too tired to even analyse that so he just got to work instead.

 

\---

 

Apparently Donghyuck’s methods of seizing all social interaction and digging himself into a hole of work was not being a functioning member of society, according to his friends.

And thus, he was forced to ‘leave the house for once’ and get him some ‘proper food’. He would probably die without his friends so he made a mental note to thank them properly later.

Donghyuck left the house and reappeared in front of the tattoo parlour (which he had been to ten days earlier – he guessed Jaehyun hadn’t thought the whole ‘no way of contact’ thing through). He entered, bought a drink and made his way to the back, near the tattoo section.

Sure enough, he spotted three familiar faces.

“Hey guys!”

And they did not look happy to see him.

“What are you doing here kid?”

“Sorry, I guess it kind of slipped my mind to tell you but my name’s Donghyuck. And I’m here because I guessed it was where I could find you guys? What happened to seeing each other again?”

“Donghyuck… we intentionally didn’t reach out to you because you were too busy studying. You can’t just, come here, in this part of town by yourself!” Jaehyun exclaimed. Donghyuck thought he sounded too much like his mother.

“Why not? I mean, I know it’s the South and everything. Trust me, my parents drilled it into my head before I moved here. But this is the third time I’m here and nothing’s happened.”

“Yet.” Sicheng’s only contribution.

Before Jaehyun could open his mouth again, surely only to scold Donghyuck, Johnny butt in with a compromising idea.

“Let’s go to the new music store that opened up! It’s not in the South, it’s near Donghyuck’s dorm and there’s a shoe store there for me to buy some new shoes from?”

Sicheng faintly nodded. Jaehyun considered it before giving in.

“Deal, but only if Donghyuck promises to never come to the South without any of us again.”

Donghyuck needed some new Prince LP’s anyway, and if Jaehyun was going to buy them from him, who was he to deny the request?

 

So it turned out that although Jaehyun was rich, Donghyuck was ‘not cute enough’ for him to buy him thirty LP’s. So he settled with ten. And then begged Johnny to buy him the rest.

They were headed to the shoe shop as Donghyuck begged Sicheng to carry some of his LP’s.

“Please! You’re the only one not carrying anything.”

“Because I don’t waste my money on useless things. Like music.”

Donghyuck heard Johnny gasp, very dramatically, but still continued to persuade Sicheng.

Five minutes later, Jaehyun could be seen carrying fifteen LP’s, Johnny ten, Donghyuck five, and Sicheng zero. _Jaehyun is much nicer than he looks_ , thought Donghyuck, who then immediately started feeling guilty for his prior judgement of said boy.

“So do you guys even have other friends or did you just drag me into this because you got sick of each other?”

“We have other friends Hyuck,” Jaehyun smirked, which was never a good thing, Donghyuck realised, “You’ll meet them soon enough.”

After reaching the store, Donghyuck set off to buy Jaemin new shoes, for his upcoming birthday. Although no fancy party was being held, Donghyuck thought Jaemin deserved this one. And it was paid with his own money too.

Donghyuck realised that although his questions about him and Mark wouldn’t go answered, Jaehyun hesitated much less when asked questions about them.

“So Johnny, are you dating Jaehyun?”

Johnny spit out his coffee, Jaehyun glared at him for a solid 30 seconds, and Sicheng only sighed.

So maybe that wasn’t the right question to start off with.

“What? I mean, Johnny’s always buying you food and shit.”

“Don’t swear, kid.” Donghyuck just rolled his eyes. “And if you must know, both me and Johnny have boyfriends. That are not each other.”

Donghyuck glanced at Sicheng. “And he does too. Sorry to disappoint.”

Donghyuck only blinked and continue to look around the store, in hopes of finding some shoes Mark was looking for earlier on.

“Why would he be disappointed? He’s dating Mark anyway,” Johnny snickered.

Donghyuck’s face immediately turned into a frown, “I’m not dating Mark. Why does everyone keep saying that?”

While Sicheng and Johnny looked surprised, Jaehyun only bit back with almost the same speed, “But do you want to?”

Donghyuck didn’t grace him with an answer, instead, heading to the counter to make his purchases.

 

Donghyuck was on his third hour of his notes, after the trio had dropped him off, when he realised that it was not working. His thoughts were much too chaotic.

Why did everyone think he was dating Mark? And speaking of the devil, why hadn’t he talked to him in a week? It didn’t help that the last interaction was literally Mark asking him if he had forgotten his hoodie at Donghyuck’s (spoiler: he hadn’t).

Donghyuck guessed that he was part of that problem too, not making time for his best friend for the sake of finals. He sent out a quick text asking if Mark wanted to go hang out sometime this week, expecting some sort of affirmation.

The next morning delivered no affirmation, in fact, it delivered nothing. Mark hadn’t even seen his texts, which was surprising and concerning to Donghyuck, considering that Mark was a night owl, he should’ve at least read it by now.

Mark was probably busy with his new relationship; and Donghyuck is obligated to give him the 30 day love window, so he doesn’t do much more, and instead, asks Jaemin if he wants to eat breakfast.

 

“You know, now that you mention it, Mark hasn’t talked to me in a while either,” Jaemin added, although it came out a lot more muffled with the three bites of waffles he had in his mouth.

There were two reasons behind Donghyuck’s frown: the first being his realisation that Jaemin will never change his disgusting eating habits, and the second being Mark’s disappearance off the earth.

Although, he had been listed as an emergency contact if Mark skipped too many classes, and he had yet to be called, so Donghyuck had reason to believe that Mark was still very much alive.

“But, like I said, I wouldn’t worry too much. Renjun does the same when finals are around. He just disappears. It’s amazing because he literally lives at my place yet he leaves no signs of it. Isn’t that oddly cool yet concerning? Jeno and I are used to it anyway.”

But Donghyuck is not used to it because Mark doesn’t just ‘disappear’. He’s always there. In one way or another.

Jaemin must’ve seen his discomfort because he walks to the other side of the booth to give Donghyuck a side hug.

“He’ll come around Hyuckie. Seriously. Mark isn’t one to do anything stupid. It’s probably the 30 day love window. Assuming he’s in a relationship”

 _I hope_ , Donghyuck thinks, _that it’s the_ 30 day _love window._

Donghyuck listens to Jaemin update him on his life, which unfortunately consists of a 20 minute Renjun monologue, and then another 20 minute Jeno monologue.

Donghyuck pays for the meal as a thank you.

 

The next time he makes contact with someone is, unsurprisingly, 2 weeks later, as he makes dinner with his roomate. Apparently there’s the _biggest_ frat party on Friday night at Yerim’s house. Yukhei’s invited and thus, so is Donghyuck.

Donghyuck considers it while taking out his notes, and wonders if Mark would show up or not. But finals are, literally, right around the corner. And as the genius she is, Yerim probably doesn’t have to worry about them. So he decides to reject Yukhei’s offer.

 

\---

 

Finals week is, more or less, hell for Donghyuck. He runs on almost 3 hours of sleep every night of the week, and definitely more than 3 cups of coffee a day. Alternatively, hell.

And as soon as it’s over, Donghyuck doesn’t think he has enough room in his already tiny, tiny head (according to Renjun), to worry about Mark and his disappearance and his finals and his, general, wellbeing. So he takes a 16 hour nap instead.

By the time he wakes up, it’s to the smell of donuts, courtesy of Jeno, who had dropped by mid-hibernation apparently. Halfway through the donut, and scrolling through his friends’ messages, asking if he was dead, Donghyuck remembered Mark. The half-finished donut was long forgotten as he grabbed a coat and made his way out the door.

He knew he had promised the trio he wouldn’t come here alone, but Mark’s safety was definitely a higher priority. Plus, his 30 day window was almost at an end and not a single message from Mark probably meant something bad. Worse and worse situations flashed inside Donghyuck’s head and he immediately felt guilty for not acting sooner. If Mark was 28 days dead, it was all Donghyuck’s fault.

As the house, which Mark had entered 28 days prior, came into sight, Donghyuck’s previous determination fizzled into apprehension. So he decided that if he walked extremely slowly, maybe someone, preferably Mark, would come out and stop him in his tracks, and from there he would make his exit.

Donghyuck thanked the guardian angel watching over him because before he knew it, out walked Mark, who, to Donghyuck’s relief, didn’t spot him and headed in the opposite direction. His Mark Lee! In one piece! Donghyuck didn’t know who to thank but he began with Jeno, for the donuts. Bless Jeno.

His relief lasted only for 3 minutes before his confusion, shock, anger, and hurt hit him. In that order. Donghyuck could only come to one conclusion.

Mark Lee was avoiding his bestfriend.

 

In his hurt and confusion, Donghyuck returned, having blanked out pretty much the entire trip home and ate his donuts. He finished replying to all his messages assuring his friends, to their disappointment probably, that he was all well and alive. He even went so far as to send Jisung and Chenle a horrible selfie as evidence, which he later realised was probably going to be used as blackmail material.

Donghyuck only sighed as he began his Netflix endeavour to finish the new season of _the_ only show to ever exist, and before he knew it his eyes gave out to his tired brain.

 

Donghyuck knew his sulky face was extreme, with the twinkling eyes and the pouty lips, but when Renjun called him out to talk about it, he knew it had gotten _extreme_ , because Renjun was, in fact, immune to it.

“Renjun, I’m fine. Seriously. I’m just upset that he’s avoiding me, and that I literally cannot think of any possible reason why. But that’s all.”

Renjun only gave him an eyebrow raise, and told him to get it together. And in Renjun terms, that meant: confront his bestfriend.

In Donghyuck terms, it meant: no.

So after their group of 6 had finished lunch, Mark missing for obvious reasons, Donghyuck wonders if he had been hallucinating the trio standing at his uni gates.

He had not. _Fuck_ , the trio had no reason to come here unless, _I. Am. So. Fucked_.

 

\---

 

“Are we going to th-“

“No.”

“Wh-“

“Don’t ask questions.”

Jaehyun’s anger was very much evident, if not for his jaw clench or his denial of Donghyuck’s question, then his very, very harsh glare at Donghyuck’s head was a dead give-away too.

The whole trip to wherever was too silent for Donghyuck’s liking. But it wasn’t like he could start up a conversation. Not with Jaehyun, because he didn’t want his eye gouged, and both Sicheng and Johnny were looking oddly wary and concerned too. So Donghyuck just decided to wonder how the trio had found out about his trip South.

They arrived at a simple looking apartment 10 minutes later, and as he saw Sicheng unlock the door with his key, Donghyuck was surprised. He hadn’t expected Sicheng of all people to let him, or the other two into his house.

As soon as he walked in, Johnny headed straight for the kitchen, mumbling something about needing a coffee, which reminded Donghyuck too much of Jaemin. Sicheng headed off into his room to change into more comfortable clothes, which Donghyuck was curious to see, he hadn’t actually seen any of the trio wearing non-dark coloured or casual clothes.

But Jaehyun only sat on the opposite side of the couch, leaning against the armrest to face Donghyuck, and gave him the sternest face Donghyuck had ever seen. “What did I tell you about going into the South without our permission?”

“Look, I wa-,“ Donghyuck tried to explain himself.

“No, no. Don’t misunderstand. I do the talking and you only answer to apologise. Explanations can go to someone who cares. Now, what were you thinking? What happened to our promise? Do you seriously not understand how dangerous the South is? Yo-“

“No.” Donghyuck replied, and three faces immediately whipped up to face him. “No, I don’t understand how dangerous the South is because you never explain anything to me. So sue me! I broke our promise. I’m sorry I treasure the safety of my best friend of 15 years over a promise I made with three strangers who I know next to nothing about!” Donghyuck was met with three slightly apologetic faces.

“What was I supposed to do? I didn’t have any of your numbers so I couldn’t exactly contact you. All of my friends were too busy or too worried about Mark themselves for me to ask for advice from. And to top it all off, Mark hadn’t even talked to me in 28 days! He ignored me, didn’t reply to my texts, and didn’t even think for a second to warn his concerned best friend before disappearing off the face of the earth!” Donghyuck was heavily breathing by the time he was done and he realised that he probably shouldn’t have shouted.

“The fact that I saw him that day all fine doesn’t help either,” Donghyuck mumbled.

“What?” Jaehyun questioned.

“What do you mean what? I saw him. He was leaving the house and he looked exactly like he usually did. The only reason behind his disappearance that I can think of was that he was avoiding me.” Donghyuck didn’t realise he was getting teary-eyed until Johnny rushed up and pulled him into a hug.

It wasn’t until a few minutes of him and Johnny hugging in silence, _So Johnny is the best hugger - it’s probably the_ _height_ , when Jaehyun spoke up.

“Donghyuck, we’re sorry. We didn’t try see things for your perspective and I just got angry when I realised your safety was in danger,” Jaehyun spoke sincerely.

“It’s okay. But why would my safety have been in danger? I mean, was there anything specifically going down in the South or?”

Jaehyun glanced at Johnny and Sicheng before looking at Donghyuck, “Kid, it’s about time we gave you some answers.”

 

\---

 

“So what you’re telling me, is that you three are vampires.” A nod. “And so is Mark. Or has been his whole life?” Another nod.

“But his powers are technically, uh, muted, until he’s 20, because he’s vampire-born, so a pureblood.” Jaehyun added.

 _Ah,_ thought Donghyuck, _how could I forget?_

“It might be a bit much to believe, we get it. You should think about it over a night’s sleep or something.”

“No, I believe you.” Donghyuck clearly stated as Jaehyun only looked in confusion. “I mean, all the signs were there. Mark wasn’t exactly discreet with things, growing up. And I mean, my parents must’ve known too. Otherwise they wouldn’t have taken such a liking to 5 year old Mark with no parents, or told me to stay away from the South without possibly knowing what was there in the first place.”

“You are… taking this a lot better than I thought you would,” Johnny added doubtfully.

Donghyuck could only shrug, “I think I’m still a bit disorientated after finals so at this point, I’m willing to believe whatever I need to. And I think the blood bags Mark carried around occasionally were a big help.”

“Feel free to nap here,” Sicheng offered, and Donghyuck was immensely grateful. As well as that had gone, Donghyuck was still a little shaken.

As he made himself comfortable, with the blanket Sicheng had bought out for him, Donghyuck couldn’t help but ask, “Why was Mark avoiding me? Is it to do with his powers?”

“Yes and no. Mark’s powers being heightened meant his thirst was greater, but I don’t think he would’ve had a problem controlling that around you anyway. He might’ve avoided you because he wanted to be careful, though. The other part is that, since Mark’s a pureblood, and those are rare, he has a lot of enemies on his plate. And if they found out about you, it wouldn’t have been good.”

Donghyuck was not satisfied with that information, or maybe he was, but it was too quickly replaced with worry and concern that he couldn’t bask in it anyway.

“Is that why you guys were angry?”

“Worried, too. That’s part of the reason. Someone might’ve caught you two hanging out even before Mark’s 20th. But since you were hanging out with us too, others might have taken you for blackmail on us three. So you had double the amount of danger on your back. Sorry for that, by the way, I didn’t really consider it until after it had already been done,” Jaehyun looked a bit upset.

“It’s okay. I got to meet you guys, and you guys are the best… friends? That I could’ve asked for. Seriously, I’m not worried. Just a bit angry at Mark but, you know, it is what it is. But for now, I really need to take a nap. I think I have a headache coming.”

Johhny softly smiled while Sicheng closed the lights.

“Okay, kid. Sleep well. I’ll text your roomate don’t worry.”

 

\---

 

The next time Donghyuck saw Yukhei, he was cuddled up with a boy that Donghyuck had seen once or twice before, in front of the tv.

“Oh, hey Hyuck! This is my boyfriend. We’re quite new so, yeah…” Yukhei blushed.

Donghyuck blinked and raised his hand to wave.

“I’m Jungwoo! Nice to meet you,” the boy greeted.

Donghyuck smiled and replied with his own greeting, before heading to the kitchen to make lunch for the three of them.

After lunch and two hours of lounging around on social media, Donghyuck headed out the dorm again to go shopping with Jeno. They had both wanted the new game that had just launched and it had some pretty good reviews too. Donghyuck skipped a bit in excitement.

 

“ _Fifty_ dollars, are you for real? You’ve already taken so much of my future time and now you want all my money too?” Donghyuck could only whinge as Jeno looked on empathetically.

“Hyuck, come on. Fifty dollars isn’t too bad when you consider the gameplay time. I know, it’s my weekly budget gone down the drain but, finals are over, we deserve a break! It’s for self-care, I swear!” Jeno convinced both him and Donghyuck, and they were out the store 5 minutes later holding 2 bags and empty wallets.

Jeno needed to go since he had class in a bit, so Donghyuck decided to go and buy himself a drink. _If I’m splurging some money on a game, I’ll just splurge a little more and restrain myself for the rest of the month. Easy!_

As he was walking out the mall, heading back home, Donghyuck saw a familiar sight out of the corner of his eye. Near the homeware section at the front of the store, the trio were standing, animatedly talking amongst each other.

Donghyuck only stared in amusement for a while at their talking, which seemed a bit like arguing to Donghyuck, before making his way over to greet them.

“Hey guys!”

Donghyuck wondered why he was met with silence, and as he turned the corner, he understood the reason.

Mark Lee was standing there, dressed in Donghyuck’s hoodie and sweatpants, with a look of confusion and suspicion on his face.

“Donghyuck! Wait, how do you know these guys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more markhyuck will be coming soon, i promise!! this chapter was basically just to set the scene. 
> 
> if you want, follow me on my  twt  or ask me anything on my  cc 
> 
> hope you enjoyed :-)
> 
> \- ravenboy


	2. early-life crisis are not my thing!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> markhyuck make up only to go down in shambles once again (aka hyuck fucks up pt. 2 but it's slightly for the better)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me a long, long time esp bc of school but i tried to do the best i could !!! its a slightly shorter chapter but it needed to be done for the story. enjoy :-)

 “Donghyuck, stop calling me. I’m angry at you,” Mark grumbled over the phone.

 

“Mark, come on, Jaehyun was the one that told me everything!”

 

“I’m angry at him too! And I’m mad at you because you decided to follow me! You don’t even know half of the danger you could be in!” Mark’s voice raised with each sentence.

 

“Mark… Well, maybe if you hadn’t avoided me, it wouldn’t have come to this!” Donghyuck knew he was reaching, but he was much too frustrated for him to be considering anything that was coming out of his mouth.

 

“Oh, so now it’s _my_ fault that you decided to follow me, talk to Jaehyun, _hang out_ with them and find out that I’m a vampire. Do you want an apology?”

 

“But you have to consi- And okay, you hung up.” Donghyuck flopped back down on his bed, he guessed he deserved that.

 

When Mark had asked him how he knew the trio, Donghyuck had frozen up. He tried explaining to Mark exactly what had happened, but the increasing furrow in Mark’s eyebrows only made him stutter more and more, and it wasn’t long before he blurted out that he knew Mark was a vampire. Sicheng and Johnny had facepalmed at that. Jaehyun could only stand there, face unreadable, as Mark took everything in. After 10 minutes of Donghyuck explaining, and apologsing simultaenously, Mark’s face had turned impossibly furious as he stormed off, not before glaring at Jaehyun.

 

Donghyuck did chase after him, but to no avail, and thus resorted to calling Mark twenty five times before he picked up, and even then, the phone call wasn’t exactly a success.

 

Still, Donghyuck couldn’t deny he felt a bit relieved knowing that Mark was safe, and the boy would probably get over his anger in a few days and return back to talking with Donghyuck.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t until a week later, as Donghyuck was out at a café with Renjun, when he realised that Mark was _still_ not over his anger. The boy had yet to contact him and Donghyuck had been mulling over it for the whole seven days. He still had so many questions left to ask Mark and giving him space was, well, harder than it seemed.

 

Renjun had seemed to pick up on his low mood, and was trying to bring up different topics, but everything in Donghyuck’s mind led back to Mark. He was surprised Renjun hadn’t called him pathetic yet.

“Donghyuck… you have to do _something_ other than just sulking around over Mark. It’s not healthy for you,” Renjun said with a scowl visible on his face.

 

Donghyuck laid his head on the table and sighed, “I _am_ doing something else. I’m out with you having a coffee.”

 

“Look, why don’t you go visit your parents for the weekend? Finals are over and I’m sure they’ve missed you a lot,” Renjun offered, as he continued to pat Donghyuck’s hair in comfort.

 

“But I always used to go to my parent’s house with Mark…” Donghyuck whined.

 

Renjun just gave him a blank face in return. He supposed he owed it to himself and his parents to visit them at least once this semester. So he agreed and grumbled about how Renjun was always right.

 

An hour after hearing about Renjun’s art professor’s torture methods, the two set home.

 

 

 

Donghyuck had gone into the cab at 8 am the next day, after informing a half-asleep Yukhei about his whereabouts for the next two days. He immediately fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until 3 hours later, as the cab pulled up into the street of his childhood home. He couldn’t hide his excitement to see all his younger siblings. He had even gone so far as to taking some of his money out of the bank to buy food for them in the next two days, although he wondered if his parents would ever let him out the house with his own money.

 

His parents welcomed him in, the house still being the cosy-mess he nostalgically remembers it as. As his mum playfully scolded him for keeping his trip a surprise, Donghyuck only laughed and hugged her in return. 

 

“Sweetie, not that I’m very happy to see you, but is Mark coming late or?”

 

Of course his parents would wonder where Mark is. It was their nature to treat him as a second child, and Donghyuck never did show up without him anyway. But this weekend was supposed to be his get-away from his stressed out uni student life.

 

 

So Donghyuck made up an excuse about how Mark was caught up with an extra-curricular, before excusing himself to go out to lunch with his younger siblings.

 

 

 

Two days were over in a flash, and before Donghyuck knew it, he was kissing his siblings goodbye, reassuring his parents that it wouldn’t be long before he comes to visit.

 

“Oh, and bring Mark next time! I missed him an awful lot, but I think you might’ve missed him more,” Donghyuck’s mum smiled in knowing and added a wink in the statement too. Donghyuck groaned at her teasing.

 

Donghyuck got into his cab and again, immediately fell asleep, only waking up to get out when it pulled up near his dorms. He took his bags and drowsily made his way up the building.

 

As he entered, he was greeted by an amazing smell, which he could only hope was Yukhei’s legendary cooking.

 

“Hey Hyuck! Figured you must’ve been tired from all the travelling, so I cooked a little something for you. I’m heading off to Jungwoo’s a little later and I won’t be back till tomorrow afternoon, so you have the house to yourself.”

 

“Yukhei, you are a godsend. Thank you. And just make sure to text me the address before you go.”

 

Donghyuck washed up, ate dinner, put on his pajamas, and was on his bed in record time. He didn’t even bother checking his messages, some notifications having been 3 days old as he decided to indulge in the luxury of napping. 

 

 

 

The next time Donghyuck opened his eyes, as much as he could anyway, was when he heard some shuffling come out of the living room.

 

He glanced at his bedside clock, now showing 9:21 pm. _Didn’t Yukhei say he was going to leave at 7pm…_ Donghyuck eyes widened in fear. _Shit, it’s a murderer. I knew it. The one time Yukhei leaves me al- Okay, no. It could just be the trio. They’re vampires. Sneaking in is what they do._

Nonetheless, Donghyuck took a pair of scissors from his desk and held it in front of him as he slowly shuffled his way into the living room.

  
As he turned the corner to lead into his kitchen, Donghyuck reached peak confusion.

 

“Mark?”

 

His bestfriend just stared back at him, eyes blinking rapidly. And Donghyuck groaned and trudged back into the warmth of his blankets.

 

He didn’t hear Mark follow, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, ready to finally confront his best friend (Renjun would be a _little_ proud, he thinks he can say). It wasn’t until he felt a dip in his bed, when Donghyuck turned around and looked up at Mark, still with an unreadable look on his face, faintly apologetic.

 

Donghyuck shuffled over and signalled to the space next to him, and Mark complied, taking off his jacket and snuggling into the blankets, facing toward the ceiling.

 

After ten minutes of _unbearable_ silence, Donghyuck reckons (Although, it was more a few moments of awkward shuffling), they both turned to each other at the same time, words on the tip of their tongues.

 

“Sorry. Let me go first, I need to apologise,” Donghyuck began.

 

“No! I -, I need to get this out of the way.” Donghyuck nodded as a sign to continue.

 

Mark sighed, “Look, I’m sorry. I guess I was being too hard on you. It _is_ your fault that you’re in the situation you’re in -,”

 

Donghyuck began to open his mouth.

 

“- But… it’s my fault too. I was avoiding you and I didn’t even tell you anything. And I’m sorry for that.”

 

Donghyuck lazily smiled, “Dork. You’re cute so I _guess_ I’ll let it slide.” Mark gave him a pointed look to which Donghyuck snickered.

 

“Okay, okay. But seriously, it’s fine. You… had a right to be mad. I snooped and got myself in a dangerous situation. And probably got _you_ in a dangerous situation too. So, again, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have followed you.”

 

Mark offered up his hand to do their handshake as a way of accepting the apology, a tradition that went back to their childhood. Although, doing it in bed, laying down wasn’t exactly optimum. Mark snaked his hands over Donghyuck’s waist, and dipped his nose into Donghyuck’s hair, their usual cuddling position.

 

“I swear, if you’re sniffing me vamp, I’ll put silver through your heart.”

 

“Shut up, Donghyuck,” Mark said, trying to cover his smile.

“I’m glad you’re back, Lee.”

 

“I’m glad I’m back too, Hyuck.”

 

And Donghyuck snuggled a bit closer, still a bit clingy after spending so much time being away.

 

Donghyuck was still much too curious about the situation, but for now, he guessed he could wait it off until the morning in exchange for some cuddles and sleep.

 

 

 

The smell of bacon and eggs made its way into Donghyuck’s room, alerting the sleepy boy awake. He glanced around and found half his bed cold and concluded that Mark must’ve been the one making his food. _This cannot be good_ , he thought, eyes staring up at who knows where in frustration.

 

He made his way out, eyes still trained on the boy fretting about.

 

“Mark. If you’ve burned my kitchen, I will never forgive you. Last time, I had to through the whole pan away just because you _forgot_ that the pancakes were in there.”

 

“Good morning to you too. And it’s fine. I won’t burn down your kitchen. Scout’s honour. Just go clean up a bit and sit down.” Mark eyes were amused as he gave Donghyuck a little smile of reassurance.

 

 

 

After the meal, Donghyuck and Mark made their way back to bed, not forgetting to wash the dishes beforehand. The weather was cold enough to make them grab an extra duvet as they slipped under Donghyuck’s blankets, the air around them still being silent and tense.

 

Donghyuck decided to cut straight to the chase, “Why are you here, Mark?”

 

“What do you mean? I -”

 

“I mean, why did you come _here_? Was it only to apologise because you could’ve done that over text.”

 

Mark sighed, “No… well partly, yes. It was to apologise. But I wanted to check up on you. Thought something happened to you or something.” Mark mumbled the last bit but Donghyuck, attentive as ever, had caught it.

 

“Why would something have happened to me? Is it because of all the vampires that are ‘out for my blood’?” Donghyuck smiled sheepishly.

 

Mark just glared at him in disapproval, Donghyuck felt guilty.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know. You weren’t answering your phone for the past two days and no one else knew where you were either. I got worried and then came here but then I realised Yukhei wasn’t home, so I snuck in using the spare key the same time you came out.”

 

Donghyuck just blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Mark to be texting him in the first place, let alone be worried enough to come all the way to his dorms. _And to think I didn’t go visit him until almost a month later,_ Donghyuck grimaced.

 

“I… I was visiting my parents actually. I was just stressed about uni and the trio and, well, you. So, figured it would clear my head a bit. I hadn’t checked any of my messages so it’s probably why I wasn’t replying.”

 

Mark just blinked up at the ceiling. Donghyuck stayed silent for a few moments before he realised.

 

“Oh! Um, yeah, my parents missed you a lot. And my siblings, too. They asked to bring you back next time, or to not come at all.” Mark slightly chuckled at that.

Mark sighed, “I hope I didn’t stress you out too much. I just got so angry because now, _your_ safety is in danger and it’s my fault. What if something happens to you? You can’t even imagine the list of people out to get me.”

 

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows, “Mark… you can’t blame yourself for everything. Didn’t we just settle that it was my fault too? And nothings going to happen to me. I’m more worried about _you_. If they’re out to get you, then why would they come for me anyway?”

 

Mark shot up, “Because! You –“ Mark stopped himself before he could go on and only stared at Donghyuck for a few seconds before slowly laying down again. Donghyuck was even more confused.

 

“Because I what?”

 

“Nothing. Some vampires just go for any humans really. And especially ones that purebloods know. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen. It’s why I’m avoiding all the others too.”

 

_Oh_. Donghyuck didn’t know why he was disappointed to hear that.

 

“But you’ll protect me right?” Donghyuck’s voice came out smaller than usual, and Mark noticed it.

 

“Hey…of course. I’d die before anything happens to you.”

 

_But he can’t- oh._ Donghyuck just shook his head and stiffled his giggle.

 

“Well you better start working out if you ever wanna put those punches to use.”

 

“Hey! My punches are stronger than they look. Especially now, vampire powers and all.” Mark smirked in pride.

 

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to see it to believe it. I can just go to Jaehyun for the time being.” Donghyuck innocently smiled while Mark rolls his eyes.

 

“Jaehyun’s no better for you to be seen around with either. He’s not exactly the friendly type with other vampires, except my group.”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes widened in interest, “Ooh! Can I meet them?”

 

“Absolutely not. Ten would bite you before you even step foot into the house. And even if he didn’t, which he would, Jungwoo would latch on to you the whole time, and flirt with you.”

 

Donghyuck shrugged, “You can just hold Ten back. And what’s the problem with a little flirting?”

 

“Hyuck, I’m not gonna le-,” Mark stopped midway once more, as Donghyuck narrowed his eyes.

 

“Mark. What is it?”

 

Mark sighed, “Nothing. Anyway, the answer’s still no. Now, get up. You have a class to attend.”

 

Upon hearing that, Donghyuck tried to do his best puppy face at Mark.

 

Mark backed off in caution, “Hyuck. No. I’m not driving you. I have better things to do!”

 

Hyuck added in a pout.

 

Mark closed his eyes to consider before letting out a sigh.  

 

“Be ready in ten,” he said as he walked out the room.

 

Although Donghyuck was happy he got away with Mark driving, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something _else_ that Mark was still keeping from him.

 

* * *

 

Donghyuck settled Jaehyun with a glare. “Nice of you to show up, _friend._ I’d have thought you’d forgotten about me based on how long you hadn’t talked to me,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

 

“Sorry, Donghyuck. Mark wasn’t exactly… kind about us being near you. It wasn’t until Sicheng had to convince him that he let us meet you.”

 

Donghyuck didn’t think Sicheng had wanted to see him, but he had missed the said boy too. Donghyuck rolled his eyes, “Whatever. At least you’re here now. Let’s go to the arcade, there’s a new game I wanted to check out.”

 

Johnny tilted his head in disapproval, “The amount of games you play cannot _possibly_ be healthy.”

 

But Donghyuck always got his way, he came to realise, and it only took two seconds of his puppy face before both Jaehyun and Johnny grudgingly began to walk.

 

 

 

After many, _many_ rounds of Jaehyun beating Donghyuck in the basketball game, and Donghyuck beating Johnny in Pacman, (“I thought you were supposed to be good at this. Pacman is just about as old as you.” “I’m 23, Donghyuck.”), the four of them finally stepped outside the arcade, or in actuality, had gotten kicked out because it was 20 minutes past closing time.

 

“Shit. I didn’t even tell Mark where I am. He’s probably at home and texting me and it’s already 11.30 an-“

 

Jaehyun cut in, “Chill. We told him you’re with us. And he’s not at home.”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes lit up in excitement.

 

Before he could say anything, Johnny interjected, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a no.”

 

“What? All I wanted to do was just see your house and meet all your friends. I haven’t hung out with you guys in so long, a little more time wouldn’t hurt. Plus, Mark isn’t even here. Please?” Donghyuck intentionally softened his voice and put on his best pout face.

 

Jaehyun and Johnny let out a huge sigh. Sicheng just gave him a quick smile of amusement, maybe. Donghyuck didn’t know if he had just imagined that or not.

 

 

 

Before walking into the house, Jaehyun turned around to Donghyuck with a serious face. “Before you go in, just know that everyone here are vampires. I trust them with my life so I know you’ll be safe but stay careful. And avoid Ten. You two are two halves of the devil and should never meet.”

 

Donghyuck didn’t know who Ten was but he was sure he wouldn’t have a problem avoidng _one_ vampire. Still, he texted Yukhei that he’d be back by the the next morning and if he wasn’t, to get Mark.

 

Donghyuck took a deep breath and walked in.

 

He had expected a lot more people than this. By skimming the room, he counted ten additional faces. Maybe it’d be a bit more harder to avoid this ‘Ten’.

 

“Hi!” A voice to his right made Donghyuck jump.

 

“I’m Yangyang! You must be Donghyuck.” The boy offered a toothy grin and Donghyuck was instantly captivated.

 

“Yeah, I am… How did you know?”

 

“Oh, you know, Mar- uh… it’s because… you’re the only human here! You’d have to be a bit of a moron to _not_ know you.”

 

Donghyuck just nods alongs.

 

“Well, I could introduce you to the rest of us if you want. Or we can just hang and play video games if you don’t really wanna talk to anyone.”

 

“Uh, introductions sound good.” Yangyang just offered him his bright, toothy grin once again and dragged Donghyuck by the wrist to the living, where the trio had already been sitting in.

 

“Guys, this is Donghyuck. You know, _the_ Donghyuck.” Donghyuck just raised his head in confusion but decided to wave it off.

 

“And Donghyuck! This is Doyoung, Kun and Guanheng. There’s more but their upstairs in their rooms, probably.”

 

Donghyuck glanced around the room and gave polite smiles to the said vampires, not failing to take notice of Jaehyun and Doyoung’s intertwined hands.

 

“Ah! Donghyuck… the one that Mar –“, before Doyoung could continue Jaehyun had smashed his hand against the other’s mouth, leaving only muffled sounds coming out.

 

Donghyuck sighed. _Why is everyone keeping things from me?_

 

“Huh?” Jaehyun questioned.

 

Donghyuck hadn’t realise had had said that out loud. “Huh? Oh, no. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” he muttered, heading facing down.

 

Doyoung squinted at him. “Look, I don’t know how much _you_ know about vampires, but we have damn good hearing. Who else is ‘keeping things’ from you?”

 

Donghyuck sighed once more. He was doing that often.

 

“I… Mark. I don’t know. I thought it was just the whole vampire, pureblood thing. But he keeps cutting himself off and changing his words around. It just feels like he’s not telling me something, you know,” Donghyuck said with a shrug.

 

Kun and Guanheng shared a cautious look with each other, while Yangyang only offered him a nervous smile. Donghyuck narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

 

“Wait, do you guys… _know_ what it’s about?”

 

Jaehyun let out a shaky laugh. “No! I- we… yes.”

 

Donghyuck raised his eyebrow.

 

“Mark’s… going through things, vampire things, obviously. And he might’ve ranted to us about this a couple tim –“

 

“A _bit_ more than a couple, I would say.” Kun cut in.

 

“- Yeah, maybe a _lot_ of times. But it’s a pretty important part of his life, and if you want to know about it, then maybe you should ask him,” Jaehyun stared at him.

 

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows, “Me? Ask him? I’m his best friend! I don’t need to _ask_ him! If it’s that important then he would’ve told me and not ranted to his vampire ‘buddies’ he met not even 2 months ago.” Donghyuck scoffed out. He realised he might’ve hit a low blow when he turned to face Yangyang’s scowl.

 

“Not cool, dude. Mark’s our friend just as much as he’s yours. Might wanna get that possession kink you have in check,” pointed out Guanheng, as he left the room.

 

Donghyuck’s eyes widened as he realised what he had said. He wasn’t _possessive_ of Mark, right?

 

Donghyuck looked up only to be met with Jaehyun’s sympathetic eyes, as he got up from the couch and signalled for Donghyuck to follow him to the kitchen.

 

“Get 10 blood bottles out of the fridge.”

 

Donghyuck did as instructed and waited in silence as Jaehyun finished unwrapping them. Midway, he turned around and sighed.

 

“Look, kid. Hyuck. I care for you. I really do. And so does Johnny. And Sicheng. Maybe. Probably. I hope.” Donghyuck smiles a little at that.

 

“Anyway, it’s because I care for you that I’m telling you this. Listen, the way you act everytime Mark gets mentioned and your concern for him and your jealousy is riveting, it truly is. And I hate to break it to you, but _no_ pair of best friends do that.” Donghyuck’s face immediately turned into a frown.

 

“They don’t get jealous because of one secret, they don’t think about them 24/7 and they certainly don’t flirt with the other all the time.” Donghyuck raised his brow.

 

“Okay, maybe they do. But I’m pretty sure they don’t secretly pine after the other with no sense of awareness about it.”

 

“I’m not pining afte-“

 

“Just think about it kid. You have all the time in the world. Mark’s been wai -. Nevermind. But, promise me you’ll at least _consider_ it. You can’t give me an answer without that.”

 

“An answer to what?”

 

“I think you know.” And with that, Jaehyun took the bottles and made his way out.

 

Donghyuck just groaned and banged his head against the fridge.

 

 

 

After numerous apologies and excuses about not feeling well, Donghyuck finally made it back home and onto his chair, ready to study away the day’s chaos.

 

Donghyuck was on his third hour of his notes, after the trio had insisted to drop him off, when he realised that nothing was absorbing. His thoughts were much too much of a mess; _did_ he like Mark? It wasn’t the first time he had heard this sort of question. If Mark and him were dating? If he wanted to date Mark? He usually denied it but hearing Jaehyun’s incessant pleas to think about it, he was starting to have second thoughts.

 

Donghyuck couldn’t deny that he had felt something for Mark along their 15 years of friendship. He had felt it when he realised that Mark might have had a secret relationship. He felt it everytime Mark’s body lingered a bit too long after a hug when Mark was tipsy. He had felt _something_ , and it was pretty strong.

 

But Donghyuck being Donghyuck (and Mark being Mark), decided that it was a good idea to repress that feeling. Deep, deep down.

 

But now, everything had changed. Mark was treating him _differently._ Donghyuck hadn’t realised he was too. Donghyuck guessed his tightly shut bottle of feelings had a slight leak, and he had only realised this when he thought, _a whole vampire and I still love him, huh._

 

Donghyuck loved Mark. He couldn’t deny that. He _could_ deny his once chance at a happy relationship by fretting over his early-life, love crisis for three weeks though. All three of which consisted of 1 common thing: avoiding Mark.

 

* * *

 

 

Three weeks were going great. For Jeno, Chenle, and Jisung. Who got to see more of Donghyuck than they had in the past 16 years of Jisung’s lives (according to them).

 

But it was not going great for Donghyuck. Quite the opposite.

 

Donghyuck had been torn up over his new love discovery for a bit longer than Renjun thought he would (He’d been his emotional support boy for two and a half weeks now, Renjun was slightly sick of it).

 

“Donghyuck…”

 

“Don’t do that,” Donghyuck clipped back.

 

“What?”

 

“That tone…”

 

“Wha-“

 

“You _know_ what tone. I put up with your crisis of liking both Jeno and Jaemin for 6 weeks. Six! It’s only been two and a half for me.”

 

“… Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Hyuck. It’s just that I’m a bit over your whining. It’s obvious that he likes you back so I don’t understand why you can’t just tell him that.”

 

“Because! I’ve never been in love before. Much less with a vam- with someone like Mark. And I don’t think he likes me back. That’s just you,” Donghyuck started mumbling out.

 

Renjun sighed. “Look, I know that you’re scared but, Mark’s your best friend. He’s going to prioritize you over anything. Name one thing he hasn’t done when you asked him to.”

 

“…”

 

“Exactly. Just talk it out. Please.”

 

“Yeah, okay. After these 3 days are done then.”

 

“Jeno’s not complaining though. He says he’s missed you ever since the semester started.”

 

Donghyuck snorted. Bless Jeno. “Tell him I missed him too. And that I’ll make time for you five more often now. Thanks Renjun, seriously. I love you.”

 

“Yeah, okay. Love you too. My cousin’s coming over in like two weeks or so. You should come over then. With Mark.”

 

“Will do, chief.”

 

Donghyuck put his phone down only to get another call from Yangyang. How the boy got his number, he had no clue.

 

“Hel-“

 

“Hyuck. You have to get here _now._ Mark got into a fight and he’s hurt.”

 

And that’s all it takes for him to go running out his dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhh!!!! the ending is a slight cliffhanger, it's not too bad i hope?? sorry this update took a while to come out, i finally got to introduce markhyuck in here but only for a short while - you'll def see them more.
> 
> also this chapter and the last one haven't been beta'd so apologies for spelling and grammatical errors. 
> 
> twt 
> 
> cc 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed, all kudos' and comments are greatly appreciated <3
> 
> \- raven


	3. i'm boring and you still love me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> donghyuck and mark deal with emotions, pining and flirting - ft. markhyuck sorting out their complications and the vampire-human love story winning out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys,
> 
> final chapter!!!! this story writing process was pretty long and i'm really thankful for all the kudos and comments!!!
> 
> hopefully i did my plot some sort of justice with this fic :-)
> 
> hope you guys enjoy!!

Donghyuck gave out a sigh of relief, as he hunched over and tried to catch his breath.

 

“Yangyang! You made him _run_ over here? Mark’s not even that hurt!”

 

“I’m sorry! It’s just I would want to know if Xiaojun was hurt too…” The boy said in a small voice.

 

“That’s because he’s your boyfriend,” said Kun with a raised eyebrow.

 

“…Yeah but Mark and Dongh- …nevermind,” Yangyang shut up with one look from Mark.

 

Donghyuck turned to find Mark and saw him leaning against the wall, shirtless, and holding a bloody shirt. Donghyuck _really_ shouldn’t have found that hot when he had more pressing matters, like Mark being hurt.

 

Mark, however, didn’t make eye contact with Donghyuck, still trying to hide the grimace on his face from the pain. Donghyuck had nearly forgotten about him avoiding Mark for the past three weeks.

 

“Whatever,” began Mark, “I’m going to get cleaned up.”

 

“I’ll help!” yelled Donghyuck, before Mark could even begin to leave. Mark only glanced at Donghyuck for a second before turning and leaving the room.

 

Donghyuck looked at Jaehyun, who raised an eyebrow at him (which meant ‘we’ll talk about this later’) before nodding his head at Donghyuck to follow Mark.

 

 

 

Donghyuck walked in to see big bruises and deep cuts on Mark’s body, not to mention the obvious blood running down his neck. Donghyuck winced.

 

“Here, sit down,” he instructed Mark.

 

As Mark grudgingly sat down on the sink top, Donghyuck wet a cloth and began wiping off the now-dried blood.

 

The air around them was still tense and Donghyuck thought this intimate interaction wasn’t helping at all. Nonetheless, he tried his best to disinfect all the cuts and began applying dressings to the bruises. He tried not to flinch every time he saw a new one, but apparently, Mark was too observant.

 

“I can do the rest.”

 

Donghyuck moved his arm back before Mark could take the bandaids off him, “It’s fine. Let me do this.”

 

As the silence continued, Donghyuck had way too much time for his thoughts. He marvelled in the way Mark’s body was cold to the touch yet set a fire in the pool of his stomach. Even if Donghyuck closed his eyes, he would be able to see the curvature of Mark’s nose, and the fluttering of his eyelashes, and the softness of his ears.

 

As he finished applying band-aids to all the cuts on Mark’s torso, he moved to his face. He hadn’t realised how close they were until his palms started sweating and his mind turned into a rainbow.

 

Donghyuck got an ice pack out and quickly pressed it near Mark’s eye, Mark let out a hiss at that.

 

“Sorry. I’m going to disinfect the cut on your lip now, it might hurt a bit.”

 

“It’s fine, do it quickly.”

 

Donghyuck tried to go as fast as he could through the process while making sure he was still doing everything thoroughly.

 

When he was done, Donghyuck stepped back and averted Mark’s gaze. His body was still overwhelmed from the closeness.

 

“It should be good now. The cuts are pretty deep so don’t forget to change the dressing every few days. And the bruises migh –”

 

“Donghyuck.”

 

Donghyuck let out a tense sigh at that and faced up to look at Mark.

 

“Mind telling me on why you were avoiding me?”

 

“I wasn’t avoi –”

 

“Donghyuck, come on.”

 

Donghyuck closed his eyes as his head hung low, “It was nothing. I- I can’t tell you, just right now, but it was stupid anyway. I’m sorry.”

 

Donghyuck couldn’t see Mark’s face but he could imagine the disapproving face Mark had on.

 

“Look, Hyuck. I’m not going to push you to tell me. It’s okay. Take your time. I was just worried.”

 

Donghyuck didn’t have time to be happy about Mark using his nickname again.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay. You were… safe… right?

 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Course Mark. I can take care of myself ya know.”

 

“I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just saying the vampires here are strong. And wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Jaehyun gave me this talk a while ago. Don’t worry, I’m making sure no one’s following me, like literally every minute.”

 

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m nagging you. I just can’t let anything happen to you.”

 

“Oh… Is Mark Lee actually going soft for once?”

 

“Only for you.”

 

Donghyuck flushed at Mark’s sincerity. “Yeah, well, just don’t go following me or anything.” _Why do I make a fool out of myself every time I speak,_ Donghyuck internally sighed.

 

Mark snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just worried.”

                                                       

Donghyuck’s heart was about to leap out of his chest. “Well, you’re doing that an awful lot aren’t you. Worrying. I don’t see you being this worried about Renjun. Or Jeno. Or Jaemin. Or -”

 

“I get it. But they’re not you, Hyuck.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Donghyuck felt like he was holding his breath.

 

Mark took a deep breath and looked Donghyuck straight in the eyes “I –”

 

“You guys done in there yet? A mans' gotta relieve himself ya know!” A muffled voice from outside the bathroom was heard.

 

Mark seemed to snap out of whatever he was in and immediately got to packing the first aid. Donghyuck tried to mask his disappointment.

 

“We’ll be out in a second, Yuta!”

 

Donghyuck unlocked the door and made his way out.

 

* * *

 

Donghyuck had cuddled up alongside Johnny on the loveseat, Doyoung informing him that he couldn’t leave until safety precautions were taken.

 

(“For what?”

 

“For you.”

 

“I can defend myself.”

 

“The _sight_ of fangs would make you freeze.”

 

“Ooh! Can I see them?”

 

“No.”

 

Johnny whispered in his ear, “Fangs are a bit of a sensitive topic for vampires.”

 

“That’s dumb. Yeri had hers out when she came over.”

 

“That’s because Yeri’s fangs are quite possibly the sharpest in the district. She _wants_ to show them off.”

 

Donghyuck scoffed, “Are Doyoung’s blunt, then?”

 

“I can hear you, pest.”)

 

They were waiting for everyone to assemble including their ‘leader’, which they didn’t technically have according to Jaehyun but Johnny told Donghyuck that the said vampire acted like a leader anyway.

 

The door opened and Donghyuck turned around to see a _very_ handsome vampire. _Damn, are all vampires this good-looking? Would Johnny get angry if I asked him how to become one? Yangyang wouldn’t._ He thought asking Yangyang wasn’t too bad of an idea.

 

Taeyong (he had learnt from greetings), had his gaze on Donghyuck and Donghyuck had never felt so vulnerable. He didn’t avert his eyes until Taeyong did though, he supposed he could be given some credits for that.

 

Taeyong sat on the armrest opposite Donghyuck as Donghyuck made a quick note of Mark’s whereabouts. He glanced around to see Mark leaning against the wall behind him with a blank face. Donghyuck gulped.

 

“So you’re the kid Mark’s been keeping behind his back for 15 years.”

 

“I- uh, yeah. But, I thought Mark only officially became a vampire a few months ago? Have you known him for that long or…”

 

“I’ve always known Mark was a pureblood. Smelt him before I saw him. When he was five, of course. We didn’t really see much of each other but I started sending him money for his education when I got a job.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I always did tell him it was too dangerous to make friends. But he never really listened when it came to you. And now you’re in danger.” Taeyong stated, in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

Donghyuck frowned, “It’s not Mark’s fault that I’m in danger, Taeyong. Maybe if vampires didn’t have this stupid hierarchy system then neither of us would have to worry about anything.”

 

“Donghyuck let’s calm do-” Jaehyun started.

 

“I like him. He’s already caught on to the system better than some actual vampires. Mark being a pureblood means he’s hunted, for his wealth. But you don’t need to worry about him, he’s more powerful than any of us in this room. It’s you I’m worried about.”

 

“Then why’d he show up covered in bruises and cuts?”

 

“They were sent by someone else to attack him. And they were pretty young too. It’s our rule to not attack child vampires unless it’s a life or death situation. So Mark just held them off and ran.”

 

“And you think that they might still be after him, or me.”

 

“Yes. That’s why I think it’s best for you to take a break from us vampires. For at least a month.”

 

Donghyuck glanced at Jaehyun who didn’t seem to have any visible emotions on his face.

 

“Don’t worry, Hyuck. I can keep you updated,” said Mark, probably after seeing his disappointment.

 

“Oh no, that includes you too Mark.”

 

Donghyuck raised his head incredibly fast.

 

“What?” questioned Mark, his tone already defensive.

 

“Mark, _you’re_ the one they’re after. If they see you two together then that’s all they need to connect the dots.”

 

“No. I’m not doing that.”

 

“Mark, it’s either all of us on him at all times or _no-one_.”

 

Donghyuck realised that Taeyong was getting increasingly frustrated as the vampire rose up from his seat.

 

“Then let’s do the first option. The more vampires the-”

 

“No. I’m not putting anyone else in danger fo- ”

 

“I’m not leaving his side Taeyong!” Mark’s breathing was heavy. Donghyuck couldn’t do anything but watch.

 

“It’s not up to you Mark.”

 

“I’m his best friend!” Mark’s eyes were now red and his fists were clenched by his side. Donghyuck made a move to get up but was pulled down by Johnny, who had a frown evident on his face.

 

“And that’s exactly why you need to stay out of this Mark!”

 

Mark was on top of Taeyong before Donghyuck could even blink and Johnny suddenly disappeared from his side to join the other three vampires in stopping him.

 

A few moments of Donghyuck trying to regain an understanding of the situation when he shouted.

 

“Enough! For fuck’s sake.” Everyone, including Mark, froze to look at him.

 

“Awful considerate of you guys to decide things without asking me for my opinion,” Donghyuck stated angrily. He was met with widened eyes and apologetic faces.

 

“I won’t visit you guys anymore. I get why it’s dangerous but I still want Mark to stay with me. And that’s final.”

 

Taeyong stared at Donghyuck. After a few moments of silence, he sighed.

 

“Well, if you’re going to hang out with Mark then Mark needs to be on you 24/7. That way they can’t wait for a chance to get you. Mark will be there to fend anyone off.”

 

Mark visibly relaxed at that. “It’s fine with me if it’s fine with Donghyuck. And I’m sorry for attacking you, Yong. I was just a bit caught up in the moment,” he said sheepishly.

 

Taeyong amusedly smiled at Mark, “You’re good. I saw it coming anyway. Jungwoo said he wanted to see you in pureblood action so I might’ve pushed a few buttons.”

 

Mark just stared in shock.

 

Donghyuck let out a little giggle. “Well, it’s fine by me. Except Mark can’t really come into class with me, so we’ll have to work around that.”

 

Donghyuck made eye contact with Mark, and his heart felt just a little more assured.

 

* * *

 

Donghyuck walked out of class to see Mark, holding two coffees.

 

“You,” he said, taking a long sip of the Americano, “are a lifesaver.”

 

“I don’t know if you meant that literally or not, but thanks. Let’s go home, you’re freezing.”

 

“And you’re not?”

 

“I don’t get cold.”

 

Donghyuck thought about all the times Mark and him had cuddled. He guessed he _was_ more oblivious than he thought.

 

“Let me guess. You’re shocked about my vampire traits but after more thinking, you realise it’s actually kinda hot?”

 

Donghyuck smiled amusedly. “Don’t flatter yourself, fangs. I haven’t even seen you in action yet.”

 

Mark grinned and his eyes held a twinkle, “If you wanted to see, you just had to ask.”

 

“Mark wha-”

 

But before Donghyuck could even blink, Mark had lifted him up and thrown him across his shoulder. Donghyuck felt nauseous.

 

“Mark, you _idiot._ Let me do-”

 

Mark started running. As Donghyuck tried to hold his coffee in his stomach, he took notice of the ground as it swerved left and right. He realised that Mark wasn’t just going fast, he was going _vampire_ fast.

 

After a few more seconds of panic and even more queasiness, Mark abruptly came to a stop and let Donghyuck down.

 

Donghyuck tried to regain his sense of place and stop the spinning of the world before coming up to scold Mark.

 

“Mark! You complete, utter _fool._ Never do that again or I swear t-”

 

Donghyuck’s words faltered as he looked around to see his apartment come into view.

 

“You… You ran a 20-minute walk in 15 seconds?” He screamed.

 

Mark just smirked and walked in.

 

“Hey! Come back, you dickhead! What if someone had seen us?”

 

“Don’t you worry your pretty, little head, Hyuck. I made sure no one was around miles before we even started running.”

 

“ _Don’t_ call my head pretty.”

 

“So I can call your face pretty?”

 

“…”

 

* * *

 

Donghyuck and Mark made their way into bed, Donghyuck immediately seeking cuddles. And who was Mark to say no?  


Donghyuck revelled in the familiarity of Mark’s face, his scattered moles and his soft cheeks warming him to the core. So maybe Donghyuck had gotten a _bit_ more cheesy after realising he was in love. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mark, and how his heart felt heavy with affection for him.

 

Living together was going to be hard. Donghyuck found that hiding his feelings for Mark was growing increasingly difficult and it had been since one day. Although, maybe the ‘24/7 security’ thing was a big factor. But Mark’s subtle flirting hadn’t been helping either. Donghyuck couldn’t put his finger on exactly what, but something in Mark had changed ever since that day in the bathroom.

 

Donghyuck definitely liked this Mark. He was more confident, and bold, and rash, and so _Mark_ yet not.

 

“Are you done staring?” Mark whispered, in a sleepy voice.

 

Donghyuck swept over his face once more.

 

“Yeah… yeah. I mean, no. I wasn’t staring. I zoned out.”

 

Mark raised his eyebrow, “Alright Hyuck. Go to sleep, I’ll wake you up in half an hour.”

 

“Mmh, okay,” Donghyuck yawned, “Love you.”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes gave out before he could see or hear Mark’s response.

 

* * *

 

“Wanna go karaoke?”

 

“…Now?” Donghyuck questioned. It wasn’t like Mark to make plans on the spot.

 

Mark shrugged. “Why not? I’m bored. You’re bored. We can go out to eat.”

 

“Okay. As long as you’re paying for the udon,” Donghyuck hummed while leaving to get ready.

 

“When do I not?” Mark murmured, under his breath.

 

 

 

Half an hour later and Donghyuck and Mark were in front of the microphone, the opening of the song playing in the background.

 

Mark started first, rapping to the beat, not shocking Donghyuck. Donghyuck had always known that Mark was good at music, and rapping. The boy had always been a fan of musicals, if him dragging Donghyuck to ten in one year wasn’t a dead giveaway.

 

Donghyuck joined in a while later, voice filling up the room, not missing the way Mark’s eyes never once left his face.

 

As his eyes met Mark’s, he held the gaze for a few seconds before averting his eyes, a slow pink rushing into his skin.

 

Donghyuck shyly smiled before looking back to the lyrics.

 

An hour later, Donghyuck and Mark were puffed out. It took one look from the other for them to agree that they were too hungry to continue.

 

And so they ended up in the local Japanese restaurant around the corner, Donghyuck immediately pulling out his student card for the discount.

 

After ordering and sitting down to wait for their food, Mark looked to Donghyuck.

 

“What do you think about Sicheng and Yuta getting together?”

 

In the short while Donghyuck had gotten to know the rest of the vampires, him and Yuta hadn’t clicked at first. Donghyuck had a sharp tongue and the other was much too irritated to deal with it. But after realising the boy had liked anime, they couldn’t get along better. They had talked for hours and hours about it, as well as other topics (like Yuta and Sicheng going on dates but Yuta not having asked him to be his boyfriend for 3 months now), to which Mark had complained about being ignored for too long.

 

Yuta had finally asked Sicheng to be his boyfriend (not after an hour-long call with Donghyuck, panicking about which flowers he thought matched Sicheng’s skin more), and Sicheng had genuinely smiled and said yes to the confession. It was Donghyuck’s, and the others by the looks of their faces, first time seeing Sicheng smile so widely.

 

“I think it was about time. I haven’t even known them that long but I just _know_ that they had been pining over the other for years and that it took Sicheng ages to ask Yuta out. I think it’s cute.”

 

Mark nodded. “Yeah, it did take them ages, didn’t it. Yuta didn’t think Sicheng liked him back by the amount of times Sicheng had rejected his advances.”

 

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, I mean, I understand him being confused at first. But how can one be _that_ oblivious? Yuta was the only one Sicheng said yes to watching anime with.”

 

Mark shrugged, “I wouldn’t put it past anyone to be that, if not more, oblivious.”

 

“Why? You know someone who’s just as oblivious?”

 

“You could say that.”

 

Before Donghyuck could ask _who_ , their food had arrived, and all thoughts immediately flew out of his head. But he swore he’d find out what Mark was hiding soon enough.

 

* * *

 

Yukhei glanced between the two of them.

 

They were situated around the couch, Yukhei sitting opposite them, a stern look on his face.

 

“So you two _aren’t_ dating?”

 

“Yukhei! No, we aren’t dating. Mark’s just staying over because… he has some complications at home. I thought you said you didn’t mind?”

 

“I don’t! I’m just worried because I thought you said he had a secret relationship? I don’t deal with cheaters.”

 

Donghyuck realised his mistake much too late to stop Yukhei.

 

Mark’s head whipped to Donghyuck, who didn’t move his head from his gaze straight at Yukhei.

 

“You thought _what_? A secret relationship?”

 

Donghyuck hastily let out a laugh. “No? Yukhei’s just joking.”

 

“No, Donghyuck. I clearly remember you saying, ‘ _Mark’s left me for his new relationship, Yukhei. I’m being forgotten and left behind. Now can you let me finish this whole chocolate bar?’_ and I think you were half-crying,” Yukhei said, imitating Donghyuck in possibly the worst tone.

 

Donghyuck felt himself sink.

 

Mark only stared at him with a blank face, “We’re going to talk about this later. And no, Yukhei. I don’t have a partner. And even if I did, I wouldn’t be cheating on them because Hyuck and I aren’t dating. Hyuck’s just my best friend.”

 

Donghyuck’s heart dropped at that.

 

Mark only took Donghyuck’s wrist and led them into his room where he sat them down on his bed and raised an eyebrow.

 

“What? Don’t look at me like that. It’s perfectly reasonable. Was I supposed to assume you were a vampire?”

 

Mark rolled his eyes, “Of course not, Hyuck. But you weren’t supposed to assume I was in a relationship either. And I would never leave you behind even if I had one. You’re way too important for that.”

 

“Right. Cause I’m your best friend or whatever.”

 

“You’re no-” Mark sighed before he could finish his sentence. “Point is, I’m not leaving you behind. I’m spending every moment I possibly could for your protection right now, aren’t I?”

 

Donghyuck snorted. “Yeah, because you’d feel guilty if something happened to me since it’s you they're after.”

 

Mark squinted his eyes. “I don’t know what upset you but don’t take it out on this. I’m not here just to protect you because I’d feel guilty. You’re the most important person in my life, Donghyuck. I don’t know how I’d _live_ if you weren’t here.”

 

“Why, Mark? Why am I the most important person in your life? I’m just your “best friend”. You have more of those. You have Jaehyun and Taeyong and even Renjun and Jaemin and I don’t need to say more, do I?”

 

“No, you don’t. But I don’t think I need to either. I think you know exactly what I mean when I say _you’re_ the most important person in my life.”

 

And with that, Mark left the room, leaving Donghyuck alone with his thoughts.

 

* * *

 

“He literally confessed to you! What more do you need?” Renjun sounded exasperated over the phone.

 

“He didn’t confess! He just… kinda said… I was special.”

 

“Donghyuck, you and I know full well that was a confession. Mark’s not good with words, that’s as good as you’re gonna get. Frankly, I’m surprised he even confessed to begin with.”

 

“I know. You’re right. I just don’t wanna admit it. It’s so _complicated_ and I don’t even know if he wants to get into a relationship or just date.” Donghyuck sighed. Mark’s statement had left him in shock. Mark hadn’t gone too far away, Donghuck knew, he still had to be there for protection. But he had given him enough space so he could absorb the information.

 

“Communicate! Say it with me, communication!” Renjun let out a frustrated groan, “Donghyuck, as your friend and as someone who cares about you occasionally, I’m telling you that you’re overcomplicating it. Just tell him you like him back.”

 

“Yeah. I know, but thanks for telling me anyway. I needed it. Thanks, Jun.”

 

“Here to save your ass anytime, Lee. Good luck.”

 

Donghyuck softly smiled as he hung up the call. What would he _do_ without Renjun?

 

As Donghyuck got up to do his work, his phone dinged.

 

**Mark**

            I’ll wait.

 

            **Donghyuck**

For what?

 

But he didn’t get a text back in the next minute, or ten, or even the next hour.

 

Donghyuck only went to bed at 3 am, having finished two of his essays in one night.

 

But he couldn’t get to sleep. He didn’t want to wake Renjun, so he called Jaehyun.

 

“Hey, kid.”

 

“You’re not angry I woke you up at 3 am?”

 

“I figured you were gonna call sooner or later. Mark told me what happened.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“So, what do you need from me?”

 

Donghyuck didn’t know what he needed.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know.”

 

“Hm, that’s okay. Wanna hear me talk about my day?”

 

“Yes, please.”

 

And if Donghyuck’s quiet hums of response gave out in not even 15 minutes, Jaehyun didn’t comment on it.

 

* * *

 

Donghyuck had been brooding. He had spent hours holed up in his room, and the silence wasn’t getting any easier. Mark had texted him that he had gone out for groceries, and Donghyuck hadn’t bothered to text back.

 

He knew part of the reason he wouldn’t confess was because of his insecurities about the relationship aspect of it. The fact that he didn’t want to lose Mark as a friend if it didn’t work out. He didn’t want to feel scared of Mark being a vampire. He didn’t want _Mark_ to know that he was scared of him being a vampire.

 

Donghyuck wished he had more time. More time to spend together and more time to be sure about this and more time to settle into their routines. He wanted to take it _slow_.

 

But mostly, Donghyuck held himself back because he was scared Mark wasn’t going to wait for hi-

 

_Oh._

Donghyuck had never run faster.

 

 

 

Donghyuck ran through the aisles, back and forth, never before had he looked so out of place, in his pyjamas at 4 pm on a Saturday afternoon, in a grocery shop, frantically looking for _something_.

 

After _years_ of searching, Donghyuck saw Mark holding a can of milk staring straight at him.

 

Donghyuck let out a shaky breath. _God, I can’t cry now. At least hold out till you’ve said something, damn it._

He sobered up his nerves and slowly made his way to the now frozen Mark.

 

“Donghyuck.”

 

“Mark.”

 

They stared at each other for a heartbeat, before Donghyuck began tearing up.

 

“Fuck, Hyuck. Don’t cry, I’m sorry. I am _so_ sor-”

 

But before Mark could even reach to wipe Donghyuck’s falling tears away, he was engulfed in a hug from the said boy, a wet spot growing on his shoulder.

 

“You’ll wait. You said you’d wait,” Donghyuck managed to sniffle out.

 

Mark smiled in knowing, “Of course, Hyuck. Fuck, I love you. So, so much. I’ll wait for centuries for you, Lee Donghyuck. Centuries and the forever after that.”

 

Donghyuck only sobbed harder into Mark’s shirt. He pulled back after he had calmed himself down a bit and pulled Mark closer by the collar of his shirt, although it came out as more as a jerk of the shirt.

 

“Mark Lee. I’ve been in love with you sinc-”

 

“I know,” Mark interrupted.

 

“What?”

 

“Renjun told me. I was panicking over my sort-of confession to you badly, so he just let it slip. And then I realised the only reason you still hadn’t talked to me was because you wanted me to wait. And then I texted you, but you’re _still_ more oblivious than I thought because you took a hell of a long time to get it.”

 

Donghyuck laughed in embarrassment, “Sorry about that. But let me continue. I still need to tell you this.”

 

Mark nodded.

 

“I’ve been in love with you since… forever. You’re my go-to, my ride or die, my soulmate, and my best-damn-friend. And I love you, Mark. I love you for all that you are, vampire or not. And I love you for waiting. For me.”

 

Mark’s eyes were overly soft with affection and fondness, in such a way that Donghyuck was almost pulled by a force to kiss him.

 

“Dork.”

 

“Hyuck.”

 

Donghyuck snorted and wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck, after checking about a gazillion times that no one else was in the aisle. “You need to work on that. It’s boring.”

 

“I’m boring. You still love me.”

 

“That I do,” Donghyuck confirmed.

 

Mark grinned.

 

“ _Get,_ ” Taeil began, “ _Out. Of. My. Shop_.”

 

* * *

 

30 minutes later, after apologising to Taeil profusely and begging him not to tell Taeyong, Donghyuck and Mark were back in bed, cuddled up once again, heartbeats and breathing aligned.

 

“Mark..”

 

“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain. You have your own reasons for wanting to take it slow, Hyuck, I know. I know better than anyone, actually. And I said I’ll wait. So I’ll wait. No matter how long it takes,” Mark’s face held nothing but sincerity as he peered down to Donghyuck.

 

Donghyuck’s breathing turned uneven. How Mark managed to sweep him off his feet even after years of knowing him still surprised him.

 

“Yeah, I know. But we made that promise, I don’t know if you remember, but I’m obligated to tell you.”

 

“Of course I remember. And you’re not _obligated_ to tell me anything. It’s up to you. Besides, I think I already know it’s because you need more time to get used to _this_ , and me being a vampire, and the change in our dynamics. Right?”

 

Donghyuck was speechless. “ _You_ ”, he stuttered, “are so much bolder now. Who taught you this?”

 

“Jaehyun and Johnny, actually.”

 

Donghyuck laughed. He made a mental note to secretly thank them for it later. He _loved_ this side of Mark.

 

“But, Hyuck,” Mark questioned.

 

“We can still… you know… show… displays of affection… right?” Mark gulped and averted his eyes.

 

“I mean, it’s okay if you’re not cool with that. Like, I’ll wait but I just wan-”

 

Donghyuck cooed at the vampire internally and pulled him in for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh!!!! it's over !!!!!!!
> 
> spoiler - mark waits and they do end up getting together sooner or later. 
> 
> jaehyun and mark's pureblood hunter friends didn't appear much - jaehyun was basically donghyuck's older brother throughout his pining for his best friend vampire, so there were a lot of behind the scenes moments; and i didn't really want to include any major action so markhyuck are safe!!
> 
> enough future references though;; i hope you enjoyed this fic and hopefully the ending fulfilled your expectations :-) 
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/neomarkcity)
> 
>  
> 
> cc
> 
>  
> 
> please give it a lot of love! thank you for reading <3
> 
> \- ravenboy


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